


long shadows in summer

by vagarius



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Does that make any sense?, I'm not sure what this is tbh, M/M, Slice of Life, Vignettes, soft summer emotions, soft?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-23 21:05:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7479984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vagarius/pseuds/vagarius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There stands Hinata, phone to his ear, a pillar in the summer night. He smiles, bright enough to see in the dark. Kageyama blinks, repeats, "What the hell," but there isn't any heat to it, just amazement, and something a little more fond.</p>
<p>(or: warm weather = warm moments)</p>
            </blockquote>





	long shadows in summer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [horchata](https://archiveofourown.org/users/horchata/gifts).



> happy summer hols!! (again?) this one's a bit, ah, spur of the moment? i guess. i figured you'd enjoy having more kagehina in your life, so, i hope that's true!

_the sun can warm_   
_my skin and bones_   
_with the loud of tinted_   
_summer tones_   
_but it's your golden heart_   
_that warms my own_   
_and ripples across_   
_like skipping stones_

"Hey, hey, Kageyama," Hinata comments, pointing. Although the wind feels like spring, the sun hits their backs like summer, casting shadows on the pavement. "What if I was that tall? I could beat anyone!" He throws his arms up and out, at this, nearly slapping Kageyama in the face.

Kageyama grabs his arm and lowers it, looking down to where Hinata's shadow dwarfs them both. "Dumbass," he says, blinking, "If you were that tall, you'd flip over the net."

Hinata huffs, and crosses his arms, but ultimately doesn't retort. Kageyama should be concerned, probably, because Hinata _always_ retorts, always spits out something like _I'm not that uncoordinated_ or some other indignant variation, though Kageyama supposes that, in the grand scheme of things, even someone like Hinata can be calmed by the mid-morning sun.

A few moments later, Hinata's racing to the closest convenience store, vibrant and bold and _there,_ and the illusion shatters.

 

_(and what is summer without you? is it just a summer without me?)_

The grass is cool around his fingers, and itchy against his back. There might be something crawling up his leg, but he can't be sure, and isn't bothered enough by it to check. Sweat drips down his forehead and neck. Other than his hands, everything feels too hot, feels too much like a heavy blanket of breath and air.

He doesn't move, though. He's not sure what he's waiting for, but he's _waiting,_ and he'll suffocate forever for whatever he's waiting for, because intuition tells him it's worth it.

(His intuition is addled by lack of sleep and an abundance of heat, so his trust in it is more than a little questionable, yet the comfort in the discomfort makes him stay; the comfort of _I'm here_ rather than _where do I go._ )

He waits, baked by the sun, and is about to drift off when orange fills his vision, blocks the overwhelming white he's been staring at.

"Found you," Hinata says, quieter than memory. "Play with me?" His features are soft, like a photo with the background faded out, and his hair sticks out wildly like ruffled feathers on a bird.

Kageyama sits up, smiles, and accidently smashes their heads together.

"Ow ow _ow,"_ Hinata exclaims, cradling his cheekbone. He glares at him, but he's smiling, too, and the heat no longer feels as sweltering.

He's done waiting.

 

_is this heat_  
_a nuisance_  
 _or a welcome_  
 _embrace?_

Kageyama is crying.

He knows this, can feel the wetness of the cheeks and the soreness of his eyes, can hear his pathetic sniffles and hiccups under the ringing in his ears. He's crying, and he knows it, but he doesn't know _why,_ because the only word he can seem to grasp is _tired, so tired,_ and that's such a stupid reason to cry. Crying is for loss, and death, and being abandoned, and for the sleepless nights spent wondering -

_Oh._

A sniffle.

_Just what did I do wrong?_

( _So many, so much,_ his brain tells him, _too many, too much, too, too, too –_

Warm. It's suddenly too warm, under his blanket. He wants to throw it off, but his limbs are trapped by more warmth, by an unfamiliar force bundled in a familiar set of arms. Stray hairs tickle his nose, and whispers hit his chest, saying _nothing, nothing, never..._ )

He falls asleep.

 

_it lingers like love, long into the stars_

His first thought is, _why is my phone ringing._ The second is, _why did I answer._ It's too early to be regretting his decisions. "Hinata," he deadpans, his brow twitching, "What the hell." He looks at the time and scowls. "It's 3 AM."

Hinata's voice drawls over the line, some sort of _ummm_ sound, then says, "I wanted to see you."

"We're on the phone. And I'm hanging up."

Kageyama moves to do so, if not for the panicked outburst that follows. _"No no no, wait! What if I said I was outside?"_

_He's outside?_ "You're outside?"

He can almost feel Hinata fidget through the phone. _"I. Didn't say that. But what if I was?"_

Kageyama sighs. He was comfortable, before, but now he's _curious,_ and he's never been one to deny curiosity.

He opens the window.

There stands Hinata, phone to his ear, a pillar in the summer night. He smiles, bright enough to see in the dark. Kageyama blinks, repeats, "What the hell," but there isn't any heat to it, just amazement, and something a little more fond.

Hinata speaks into the phone, and Kageyama watches his lips move, close to the receiver. "Like I said," he mumbles, barely there, and so unlike the _light bold bright_ Kageyama's used to, "I wanted to see you."

Maybe it's the night, or the leftover warmth, but Kageyama finds himself melting at the words, his heart a malleable goo, and thinks that, perhaps, Hinata's heart is melting, too.

 

_but dawn still comes_  
_to split the sky_  
 _like you_  
 _my composure_

"Hinata – "

_"Weeee!"_ Hinata twirls around, getting mud on his shoes and splashing Kageyama's, but he can't bring himself to mind. "Isn't it nice out today?"

_Not really,_ Kageyama thinks. It's too hot, and not even the good hot; rather, it's the gross, sticky hot that clings to his skin like wet leather, or the hardwood of dirty gym floors. The breeze coming off the lake fails to help matters. He doesn't say this, though, instead makes a noise of agreement, and watches as Hinata continues to skip around.

There are rocks at the edge of the lake, and Kageyama picks one up to throw. It bounces one, two, three times, making the surface of the lake shimmer unevenly. Hinata _uwohs,_ and asks Kageyama to teach him.

Kageyama's never been the best with words, and opts to show him, picking up another rock and flicking it across the water. It bounces four times before sinking, and Hinata _uwohs_ again.

Hinata tries and tries and tries, and fails, most of the time, but there's a point where he flicks his wrist just right, and the rock skips five times over the water. And he looks so amazed, then, so _alive,_ that it makes Kageyama's heart soar with heat, like rain evaporating from the top of a lake.

_(and what is the warmth of summer? does it beat to your heart or my own?)_

**Author's Note:**

> (i'm honestly surprised at the sheer _amount_ i wrote for this exchange)


End file.
